Expanding tool for collapsing anchoring sockets



Jan. 15, 1952 G. F. CROESSANT 2,582,417

EXPANDING TOOL FOR COLLAPSING ANCHORING SOCKETS Filed March 13, 1950 2 SHEETSSHEET l v V ,4 Q 1 4 a. a 21 INVENTOR.

Gamma; FRiOtfincK Gaol-55AM ATTORNEY Jan. 15, 1952 G. F. CROESSANT ,4 7

EXPANDING TOOL FOR COLLAPSING ANCHORING SOCKETS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed March 13, 1950 INVENTOR. Gconqr: F2 LDLRICKCRQE5SAUT ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 15, 1952 EXPANDINGTOOL FOR 'COLLAPSING ANCHORING SOCKETS George Frederick Croessant, Wyomissing, Pa.

ApplicationMarchlii, 1950, Serial No. 149,417

7 Claims.,

This invention relates to a tool for expanding anchoring sockets for receiving threaded bolts, and. of the kind-disclosed in my earlier Patent. No. 2,018,251 issued October 22, 1935 and inmy1 co-pending application Serial No. 36,475,- filed July 1, 1948, now Patent Number 2,559,281. granted July 3, 1951 entitled Anchoring Socket for Bolts. In general, this typelof anchoring socket, as shownin various figures of thepresent drawin s, such as-Figs. 3 and.4, comprises a-tubular'member whose central portion is longistudinallyslotted so as.to provide expansible. strips,.- one end portion of the tubular member being threaded and in screw threaded engagement with a bolt extendingthrough the: member and the other, or head portion, being in the form of a sleeve having-no threads; As disclosed in the aforesaid patent, after the threaded end por tion is inserted through the-hole of a supporting wall, the head of the-threaded bolt is turned. by a screw driver, thereby pulling the. threaded inner end portion towards-it, and outwardly expanding elements having .a threaded end portion.

However,v in large construction. proiectsthis.

mode of installation is timesconsuming and-.con

siderably slower than the method disclosed in the 1 pre en pp ic on.

Furthermore, in many installations, a threaded:

bolt asdescribed hereinabove, is not suitable as.

a supporting member and instead perhaps an eyebolt. or a bolt .of longer or shorter length than that whichis normally included as part of the.

anchoring socket assembly is required to support articles on a wall or ceiling. In these instances, therefore, the threaded bolt is omitted to save cost, particularly in large scale installations where perhaps thousands of anchoring sockets are to be insertedand expanded. However,

means must be provided to expand the bolts.

quickly and with I minimum manual. effort.

An object of the present invention is toprov vide a tool whichwillovercome the above-namedv disadvantages attendant in: the useof ascrew bolt-for expanding an anchor socket of the, type describedhereinabove anddisclosed. in my aforesaidprior patent,,whi ch tool is easy to operate and so constructed as to allow quick expansion of,

the. anchoring; socket, thereby saving -a consider ableamount oftime in theinstallatiOn-of large numbers f.-.anchorine.soc et A more specific object of. this .inventionlis to,

provide. a tool for expanding anchoring sockets, such as desoribedin my aforesaid prior. patent. and; pending application, which tOOLbY aefew. manual. grasping operations requiring .very little manual effort, will apply intermittentforces -to cause expansion of the intermediate fiexiblestrip, portions of said anchoring socket and whichtool is soadjustable as to permit installation ot an; shoring sockets of difierentsizes.

Other objects and advantages of the present inventionwill be apparent-from a study of the following description, taken with the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 is a. side view of atoolfor expanding; sockets. of the. type described hereinabove and embodying the principles of my inve ntion;.

Fig. 2 is a. longitudinal cross-sectionalview ofg the expandingtoolshown in Fig. 1 illustrating,

the tool in the open or unclamped position}.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional.view=.of..

the forward end portion of the tool shown inFigs.

1 and 2 as applied to an anchoring socket of.the'. type described-hereinbefore and illustrating the.-.

position of the forward end portions of the tool when initially applied to the unexpandedxanchoring socket;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 3-but showing the forward end portions of the tool in the operated position andshowing the anchor socket in an expanded posi tion as a consequence of operation of the tool;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal cross-see tional view of the forward end of the stationary Fig, 8 is an end view of the rack shown in Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of, a modifiedform of expanding tool embodying the principles. of the present invention and wherein a circular instead of rectangular rack is used;

Fig. 10. is a transverse cross sectional view.

taken along line X-X of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary, longitudinal cross-sec: tional View of the forward end of the tool shown in Figs. 9 and 10 illustrating the position offthe v tool parts and anchoring socket before operation of the tool and expansion of the anchoring sockets and Fig. 12 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 11, but showing the tool in the operated position and the anchoring socket in the expanded position.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1, numeral I denotes the relatively stationary member or handle of the tool which is substantially channelshaped in cross-section. Handle I has an integral depending front end portion 2 on which is pivotally mounted by means of a pivot bolt 3 the relatively movable member or handle 4 of the tool having integrally formed, at the forward end, extensions 5 which serve as bearing support flanges for the pivot bolt 3 which straddles the width of handle I. Integrally formed on the movable handle 4 and extending between the side flanges thereof is also a bolt or stud 6 which serves as a stop element for limiting the outward or expanding movement of the movable handle 4 with respect to the stationary handle I. In order to limit the inward or collapsing movement of handle 4 with repeat to handle I, there is provided an adjustable stop member I in the form of a bolt which is screw threadedly engaged with the top web portion of handle 4. The inner end of the bolt is adapted to strike against the top of pawl 9 to arrest further downward movement of handle 4. When it is desired to obtain a greater downward stroke of handle 4, it is necessary merely to unscrew the bolt or stop member I to the desired extent so that the stop member will not strike the stationary handle part until a greater amount of downward movement of handle 4 has been accomplished. A helical spring 8 is provided whose upper end portion is held in place by bolt I and whose lower end is secured to the top portion of pawl 9 by means of a screw I9. Pawl 9 is pivotally supported by means of a bolt or pivot stud I I secured to the vertically extending side flanges of the channel-shaped stationary handle I.

A pivot bolt I2 is secured to and bridges the vertically extending side flanges of movable handle 4 and has pivotally mounted thereon a pawl I3. Pawl I3 is normally biased in a downward direction, as viewed in Fig. 2, by means of a helical spring I4 which has its lower end seated in agrooved or well portion formed in pawl 63 and its upper end held in a centered and fixed position by means of a screw stud or bolt I5 threaded into the top or web portion of handle 4. By means of a downward extension 4b on the forward end of the handle 4 a stop element is provided which is engageable in a correspondingly formed notch or shoulder portion in pawl I3 which limits the downward movement of pawl I3 under the action of spring I4 so as to maintain the engaging lower end of the pawl I3 close to but out of actual contact with the teeth of a reciprocable rack I6. Rack I6 is guided by the side flanges and bottom of the channel-shaped stationary member or handle I. Secured to the rear end of handle I is a guide shaft II. The forward end of guide shaft I! is telescopically fitted in a cylindrical groove formed in the rear end of rack I6 so as to guide the rack I6 in its longitudinal movement within the stationary handle I. A helical return spring I8 surrounds shaft I! and has one end resting against the rear end of handle I and the other end in engagement with the rear end of rack I6 thus normally biasing rack I6 in a forward position, whereby its vertically extending forward end wall Ilia will engage the vertically extending forward end wall I9 of handle I. V-shaped grooves 20 and 2I are formed in the walls I9 and Mia. respectively, as

shown more clearly in Figs. 6 and 8. A V-shaped shoulder on wall I6a fits into groove 20 so as to make V-shaped grooves 20 and 2| substantially coextensive.

Fig. 3 shows the manner in which an anchoring socket of the type described hereinabove is supported in the expansion tool embodying the present invention. Generally speaking, this type of anchoring socket comprises a tubular member having an inner sleeve portion 22 which is internally threaded and in threaded engagement with a bolt 23 and, at the other end, a sleeve portion 24 which is not internally threaded and which has integral therewith a washer-like element 25,

preferably provided with integrally formed wings 26 adapted to penetrate the front surface of the wall to restrain sleeve 24 from rotation when the bolt 23 is turned by applying a screw driver to the kerf of its head 21. Intermediate sleeve portions 22 and 24 are a plurality of integral, longitudinally extending strips 28, preferably having a slight outward bow at the center, or better still, at points slightly short of the central position of the strips 28 when measured from wall 29. For the exact details of construction of said anchoring sockets, reference is made to my earlier patent and my co-pending application hereinbefore mentioned.

In operation, after a hole is formed in wall or partition 29, an anchor socket and bolt is extended therethrough, as shown in Fig. 3, the bolt 23 being slightly unscrewed so as to provide a gap between the bolt head and washer-like element 25. The forward end of the tool is then applied in a manner so that the bolt shank adjacent the head is seated in V-shaped groove 2| of the forward vertically extending wall I6a of rack I6.

In operation, by manually grasping handles I and 4, the operator depresses movable handle 4 and causes engagement of pawl I3 with rack I6 so that upon further downward movement of handle 4, rack I6 is retracted and pulled rearwardly against the action of return spring I8, thereby efiecting separation of the vertically extending end wall portions I9 and Mia of handle I and rack I6, respectively, as shown more clearly in Fig. 4. Thus, end wall I6a of the rack pulls on the head of the bolt, pulling with it sleeve portion 22 while end wall I9 of handle I abuts against washer-like element 25. The downward movement of handle 4 is arrested by adjustable stop element I. After rack I6 is pushed rearwardly by pawl I3, the one-way acting pawl 9 will hold rack I6 in its new or partially retracted position. Then upon releasing pressure on handle 4, return spring 8 will cause upward movement thereof limited by stop bolt 6 striking. against the bottom of handle I. Then handle 4 is again depressed by grasping handles I and 4 together, so that pawl I3 will again engage rack I6 and push it from its slightly rearward position to a more rearward position. Pawl 9 will then hold rack I6 in its newly acquired rearward position whereupon handle 4 is again released to allow separation thereof from member I. Then handles I and 4 are again grasped and further retractive movement of rack I1 is obtained and the operation is repeated until finally the desired amount of separation between vertically extending walls I6a and I9 is provided, as shown in Fig. 4, to cause full expansion of the anchoring bolt, whereby the intermediate portions of strips '28 are anchored and yieldingly held against the. inner: Surfaceof the wall '29,;so astouprovide.

arigidand securely supported -;anchor.,.

After .full' expansion, of the anchoring socket. or expansion bolt has been, attained; the rear: ward portion of pawl 9 .is depressedso as .to lift the. pawl tooth and thereby release thev rack; 56; so that it will move forwardly underthe action oireturn, spring. l8 and assume the proper position-for expandin the next anchoring socket. It. will be apparent that by suitable adjustment ofthe adjustable. stop member I, the number of strokes of the tool. may be varied. Forexample if it requires. four grasping movementsofthe,

fore requiring fewer strokesfor complete expansion of the anchoring socket.

A modification of the tool is shown in Figs.

9 to 12, inclusive, which is particularly'suitaole.

for installing anchoring sockets wherein thread ed bolts, such as 23. described hereinabove as a. component part of the anchoring-socket, are not employed. such as ininstallaticns where eye-bolts are preferred. Most of the elements of the tool shown in Figs. 9 to 12, inclusive, arev of exactly the same construction. as thosein Figs. 1 to 8 and corresponding identical parts are denoted by the addition of the suffix a to the numeral. For example, movable handle 4a of Fig. 9 corresponds to movable handle 4. of Fig. 1, etc., therefore further description of these parts is deemed unnecessary. The principal difierence in construction is. that in the modification shown in Figs. 9 to 12', inclusive, a rack 39.. is provided having a round cross-section as distinguished from the rack which is of rectangular crosssection. Rack is provided with rack teeth which extend peripherally. integrally formed, on,

one end of the rack 39 is a shaft orextension 3i removable extension which is heldstationary.

with respect to the rack by means of a set screw 36 or other suitable detachable securing means.

The opposite end of extension 35 isalso screw.

threaded and is engageable with the internally threaded sleeve portion 22 of the anchoring socket.

as shown more clearly in- Figs. 11 and 12. The purpose of the extension 35 is to provide for different thread diameters of threaded sleeve portion 22 since for difierent uses, different sizes of anchor bolts are required. That is to say, while the threaded portion of extension 35' which is engaged in rack 30* is always of the same diameter, the opposite threaded portion can be. made,

of different diameters by enlarging the diameter ofthat end portion.

In operation, the forward vertically extending wall 31 of stationary handle -33:,is placed jingjuxtaposition to. the ,washer-like element 25-: of the anchoring "sockets Thenbyturnmg therknurled not "32; pawlufiambeing held. out ,of: engagement, with the rack,tee.th,.the forwardscrew threaded end. of extension 35 is screw threadedly engaged to, sleeve portion: 22; pawl 9a being, then. released; The handles 33:,and 4a. are. grasped andreleased a number of times sov asto obtain step-by-step; retractive movements of the rack 39;. Pawl 9a will, at the endof each-retractive movement,.;hold. therack in its new positionso that, after anumberof downward and upward strokes .of handle 4a with respect to handle 33, the forward end: parts of'the tool will'move from theposition shown: in Fig. 11 to that shown in- Fig. l2-wherebytheanchoring socket will become fully expanded.

Thereafter, pawl Ba-is released, allowing the. return spring to push rack 3 forwardly from the position shown in Fig; 12 to that shown in- Fig. 11 to preparethe tool for installationof the nextanchoring socket; The operation is otherwise. identical to that of the tool shown in Figs. 1 to 8, inclusive, and described in full hereinbefore.

fhus it'will be seen that I haveprcvided a, highly efiicient tool for expanding anchoring bolts or expansion sockets-either of the type described in my aforesaid patent or co-pendingap-.

plication or useful for expanding other typesof expansion bolts or similar articles. Also, itwill be seen that I haveprovided a tool whichgreatlyshortens the time requiredfor installation of large numbers of anchoringsockets, and greatly facilitates expansion of these sockets sinceoperation of the tool requires a minimum amount ofmanual effort to expand the anchoring sockets.

While I have illustrated anddescribed severalembodiments of my invention, it will be understood that these are by way of illustration only, andthat various changes and modifications may be made within the contemplation of my invention and within the scopeof the followingclaims.

I claim:

1. A tool for expanding expansion sockets, saidtool comprising a pair of handles p-ivotally connected together at one endthereof, a spring interposed between said handles for normally spreading them apart, stop means on one of said handles and adapted to abut the other for limiting the spreading apart movement ofsaid handles, one of said handles having-an upstanding wall portion at'theforward end thereof having a, slot, a retractible member also having an upstanding wall portionat the forward end thereof having a slot which-is ofsubstantially the same size and in registry with saidfirst mentioned slot and being slidably mounted within said last mentioned handle, and means for translating pivotal movement of said handles towards each other to retractive movement of said slidable member so as to effect separation of said forward wall portion and'the forward end of said retractible member and thereby cause expansion of the expansion socket.

2. A tool for drawing together-the end sleeveportions of an expansion socket and outwardly collapsing its central, longitudinally extending strip portions, comprising a pair'of handles .piv-v otally connected toeachother at one end, a, spring interposed between said handles for nor mally spreading them apart, stop; means on one-- of said handles and adapted to abut the other for.

limiting. the spreading apart .movement of said. handles, one ofsaid handles being substantially;

channel-shaped in cross-section and having an upstanding front end wall portion which includes;

upstanding wall portion including a slot ofsubstantially the same size and in registry with said aforesaid front end wall slot of the handle, and means mounted on said handle members for effecting step-by-step retractive movement of said rack upon collapsing movement of said handles whereby one of said wall portions will hold one end portion of the expansion socket stationary while the other wall portion will, by means of a threaded bolt head supported in its slot, move the other end of said expansion socket, to which it is threaded, towards the first mentioned end to effect expansion of the intermediate strip portions of the socket as the result of separation of said forward end wall portions.

3. A tool for expanding an anchoring socket of the type having two sleeve-like end portions, one of which is internally threaded, and integral intermediate strip-like portions, and having a bolt threaded to one sleeve-like portion and extending through the other unthreaded sleeve-like portion, which tool comprises two hollow handles pivotally connected together at one end thereof, a spring interposed between said handles for normally spreading them apart, stop means on one of said handles and adapted to abut the other for limiting the spreading apart movement of said handles, a relatively stationary handle having a longitudinally reciprocable rack therein, an upstanding wall portion at the pivotal end of said handle including a substantially V-shaped notch at the top thereof, the forward end of said rack including a second upstanding wall portion having a substantially V-shaped slot in registry with said notch and wherein the threaded shank near the head portion of said bolt may be seated, the other handle being relatively movable, a pawl pivotally mounted on said last named handle and adapted to engage said rack intermittently as the result of pivotal movement together of said handles, whereby said upstanding end wall portions of said stationary handle and rack are separated causing pull of the threaded sleeve-like portion of said anchoring socket towards the unthreaded and sleeve-like portion thereof and thus expanding the intermediate strip portions of the anchoring socket against a supporting wall.

4. A tool for expanding anchoring sockets of the type having sleeve-like ends, one of which is internally threaded, and intermediate interconnecting longitudinally extending strips, which sockets are adapted to be inserted through a hole in a supporting wall, said tool comprising a pair of handles pivotally interconnected at one end thereof, one of said handles havingan upstanding wall at one end thereof including a slot, a longitudinally reciprocable rack contained in said one handle, a return spring for normally urging said rack so that its forward end will normally abut against said upstanding end wall portion, a pawl pivotally mounted on the other handle, a stop member forming a part of said other handle adapted to abut against said one handle, a return spring connected between said pawl and said other handle for normally urging said pawl against a stop portion of said other handle to bring the tooth of the pawl into position for engaging the teeth of said rack, a second pawl pivotally mounted on said one handle, a return spring having one end in engagement with said second pawl and the other end secured to said other handle so as to normally bias said second pawl into engagement with said rack, said upstanding wall portion being adapted to be held against a stationary unthreaded sleeve-like end of said anchoring socket, the forward end of said rack being connected to the internally threaded sleeve of said socket so that upon each collapsing pivotal movement of said handles, a partial retractive movement of said rack will result to provide a step-by-step expansion force to said anchoring socket.

5. A tool as recited in the preceding claim wherein said rack is provided with an upstanding end wall portion with a slot adapted to come into registry with said aforementioned slot, said slots being adapted to receive a threaded shank portion of a bolt whose end is screw threaded to the internally threaded sleeve-like end of said expansion socket.

6. A tool for expanding an anchoring socket of the type having sleeve-like end portions and integral longitudinally extending intermediate strip portions and a bolt whose end is screw threaded to one of said sleeve-like portions and extends through the other, said tool comprising a pair of handles pivotally connected together at one end thereof, a reciprocable rack slidably mounted and guided longitudinally by one of said handles which acts as a stationary handle, the forward end of said stationary handle having an upstanding wall with a slot at the top thereof, said rack being substantially cylindrical, having peripherally extending rack teeth, a return spring whose ends are urged against one end of said rack and of said stationary handle so as to normally bias the other end of the rack into engagement with said upstanding wall portion, the other handle being relatively movable, a pawl being pivotally mounted on said relatively movable handle and being normally spaced from said rack, said pawl adapted to engage said rack as the result of pivotal movement together of said handles, means for holding said rack in any given retracted position, an extension secured to the forward end of said rack and having a threaded end which is screw threadedly engageable with the internally threaded sleeve-like portion of the anchoring socket, a knob integrally connected to the other end of said rack, whereby said rack is turnable spring having one end in engagement with said last mentioned pawl and the other end surrounding the threaded portion of said bolt whereby said bolt acts as an adjustable stop member for limiting the amount of collapsing movement of said handles when drawn together by virtue of striking of the end of said bolt against said last mentioned pawl.

GEORGE FREDERICK CROESSANT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 577,959 Humphreys Mar. 2, 1897 1,019,195 Smith Mar. 5, 1912 1,563,840 Dirks Dec. 1, 1925 2,069,907 Waner Feb. 9, 1937 2,115,251 Buck Apr. 26, 1938 2,527,307 Huck Oct. 24, 1950 

